State-of-the-art brushed motors of Disc Armature design are generally cheaper, simpler, lighter and more efficient then brushless motors for scooters and light vehicles with continuous power requirements of 1-20KW or more.

The Disc Armature motor is a new design of DC commutator motor which reverses the presumed market trend away from brushed motors towards so called brushless (electronically commutated) synchronous or asynchronous AC designs.

Central to the Disc Armature design is the patented axial-flux disc armature with high performance permanent magnets which together replace the traditional cylindrical armature and field coils still employed in the most D.C. traction motors - eg in industrial trucks.

More powerful versions are available for heavier scooters, go-karts and small cars, with power up to 8.5 KW on 48 Volts.

Disc Armature over Conventional Cylindrical Armature

High efficiency over a wide band, peaking over 90%.

2 to 3 times higher power-to-weight ratio.

Rugged construction - no commutator connections to break down.

Sealed for life brushgear - many thousand hours brush life.

Shunt characteristic - ideal for controlled speeds, eg in mopeds.

Less material use - lower costs.

Advantages over brushless designs

Equal or higher power-to-weight ration up to 20+KW.

Lower running speed requiring little or no reduction gearing.

Lower operating voltages possible.

Self-cooled - no external cooling system required.

Simple electronic control giving smooth, high torque at low speeds.

Simple construction - much lower costs.

Due to the advantages and disadvantages, the Disc Armature motor is ideally suited to electric scooters; the following characteristics are typical: